Do you find yourself taking late lunches, working your meals around your toddler's schedule? Are you also having trouble losing weight? (What new mom isn't?) According to an article inUS News and World Report, those late lunches could be costing you pounds.
The article reported on a study of people who eat lunch late in the afternoon (generally after 3 p.m.) compared to those who eat earlier in the afternoon. Those who dined later may have more trouble shedding pounds than those who dine earlier, the study suggested. Of 420 people in a weight-loss program, the later lunchers lost about 25 percent less weight than those who ate earlier in the afternoon.
The findings, which were reported in the International Journal of Obesity, come with caveats. The researchers could not determine that a lunch later in the afternoon itself caused people's diets to be less successful. In addition, participants of the study were from Spain, where the midday meal is usually the biggest meal of the day.
We've heard repeatedly that eating smaller meals more frequently helps regulate blood sugar and can help busy parents keep going all day, but it's not always feasible when you're chasing kids around. Instead, parents might do better to focus on having at least one family meal together each day. Gathering around the table for at least one daily meal as a family means spending quality time together.
What's more, dining together gives parents a chance to start teaching their toddlers healthy eating habits and appropriate table manners, and the importance of using such words as "please" and "thank you." These can be crucial as kids get a little older and start having meals with other relatives or at preschool or school.
Do you have at least one meal together as a family? Leave a comment below with your story!
Photo Credit: Egilshay/sxc.hu